Keystone and crude oil surprisingly similar fights

CRUDE EXPORTS FIGHT AND KEYSTONE BATTLE: SEPARATED AT BIRTH? While these two policy disputes have obvious differences in content, they bear marked similarities. With the House Energy and Commerce Committee set to vote today on a bill to lift a 40-year-old ban on crude oil exports, Elana Schor considers how the export backers and opponents are rolling out many of their old talking points in the current debate: "At the heart of the pro-exports campaign is a national security argument broadly similar to the case for Keystone, which would mostly carry crude extracted from oil sands deposits in Alberta, Canada. Republicans and industry interests pitch secure supplies of both U.S. and Canadian oil as valuable geopolitical assets that can insulate America and its allies from threats including Russian aggression in the Ukraine and Iran's imminent return to the global oil market. Backers of both exports and Keystone also promise job creation and lower gasoline prices as new fuel reaches the market, while their opponents warn that China would benefit most from putting all that new oil on the global market." Give it a read: http://politico.pro/1W4hQhn

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But Republicans pulled a big energy bill from the meeting: In addition to the crude oil export bill, committee Republicans had planned on marking up the voluminous energy bill. But yesterday evening, they pulled the bill. The legislation would have addressed energy security, efficiency, and infrastructure, among other issues. An aide told ME, "We launched this process over a year ago and while we have made great strides, we need a little more time as negotiations continue. We remain on track to ensuring our policies reflect our incredible abundance." Word from off the hill is that some committee Republicans want to offer amendments regardless of whether they have Democratic backing. That creates an impasse, because committee Chairman Fred Upton promised Ranking Member Frank Pallone that they would maintain bipartisanship in the committee. http://bit.ly/1UW3EVh

GOP DEBATE'S CLIMATE MOMENT: CNN's GOP presidential candidate debate didn't delve into energy issues, except for a brief exchange where Sen. Marco Rubio, and govs Chris Christie and Scott Walker bonded over their opposition to the Obama adminstration's climate regulations. "Every proposal that they're going to put forward are proposals that are going to make it harder to do business in America, that will make it harder to create jobs in America," Rubio said. "They will not do a thing to lower the rise of the sea, they will not do a thing to cure the drought here in California."

Christie deflected an attempt by CNN moderator Jake Tapper to put him at odds with Rubio, with Tapper calling Rubio a "skeptic" and noting that Christie believes climate change is happening, and that humans help contribute to it. "I don't think Senator Rubio's a skeptic of climate change, I think what Sen. Rubio said I agree with, that in fact we don't need this massive government intervention to deal with the problem," Christie responded.

He touted that he was the only Northeast governor to pull out of the regional greenhouse gas initiative, while plugging his state's solar, natural gas and nuclear power plants. "I agree with Marco, we shouldn't be destroying our economy to chase some wild, left wing idea that somehow us by ourselves [are] going to fix the climate," Christie said. Walker — who appeared to take a shot at EPA ozone regulations — was the only other GOP candidate to chime in before Tapper changed topics.

IT'S THURSDAY! I'm your host, Eric Wolff, and today's Morning Energy is best described by Inigo Montoya: "No, there is too much. Let me sum up." Send energy-related tips, quips, and comments at ewolff@politico.com, or follow us on Twitter @ericwolff, @Morning_Energy, and @POLITICOPro.

** A message from The CRUDE Coalition: American consumers are benefiting from the lowest gasoline prices anywhere in the world today. That's boosting household budgets and the wider economy by billions of dollars. Don't raise gasoline prices by shipping US crude to China. See what American voters think here. http://bit.ly/1Kdqt0D **

POLITICO’S WHAT WORKS D.C.: Join POLITICO Magazine for the next in their What Works series, focusing on the future of Washington, D.C. Featured speakers include: Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, Delegated Deputy Secretary John King, Department of Education; Karen Mills, former administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration and senior fellow at Harvard University; and more. Find out morehttp://politi.co/1LgPvkI and RSVPhere.

EXXON HAD A CLIMATE RESEARCH PROGRAM — AND BURIED IT: Scientists working for oil giant Exxon alerted the company to the dangers of climate change to its business as far back as 1977. In response, the company launched a massive research effort into the phenomena, spending millions, only to bury the program and turn its funding to climate denial, according to a five-part investigation by Inside Climate News.

The second part of the series, published last night, focuses on Exxon's extensive climate research program, "Bold research projects were not uncommon at Exxon, which in the 1970s considered gradually shifting from oil to become a diversified energy company. Through its research units, Exxon explored ways to encourage more efficient consumption of petroleum and a wide range of alternative fuels. After company scientist Elliot Berman found a way to slash the cost of making photovoltaic solar cells by 80 percent, Exxon's chairman Clifton Garvin publicized how he heated his family swimming pool with solar power to show support for energy diversification ... Exxon delved into the oceans' role by installing a state-of-the-art lab aboard the Esso Atlantic, one of the biggest supertankers of the time ... After a decade of frank internal discussions on global warming and conducting unbiased studies on it, Exxon changed direction in 1989 and spent more than 20 years discrediting the research its own scientists had once confirmed." Part 1: http://bit.ly/1QgHtHR, Part 2: http://bit.ly/1P0yytM

Twenty climate scientists called for RICO investigation in a letter to Obama and U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch. The scientists argue that the systemic efforts to prevent the public from understanding climate change resembles the investigation undertaken against tobacco. They draw inspiration from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse who said on the Senate floor that there might be a similar conspiracy here, and a civil trial could provide the tools of discovery needed to find out. http://bit.ly/1F3bue2

FERC KNOWS WINTER IS COMING: Grid operators from all across the country are coming in to brief FERC on plans and predictions for the coming 2015-2016 winter. The nation was largely spared of a consecutive visit by the polar vortices earlier this year but really, who can predict the weather? Fittingly, FERC leaders are following up on a final rule seeking to better coordinate the natural gas and electric markets. The rule went into effect two months ago but the Desert Southwest Pipeline Stakeholders, which includes Arizona’s utility regulator and a number of power companies, filed a rehearing request that FERC leaders seem poised to act on today. Not too much else raised our eyebrows on the schedule for the upcoming meeting, but it’s worth noting that the agenda gives birth to at least three new dockets, including one on FERC’s access to certain NERC databases. The meeting starts at 10 a.m. at FERC HQ: 888 First St. NE. Webcast: http://bit.ly/1vU2yyB

Brace yourself for FERC lockdown. In addition to their now-regular marches during monthly meeting days, the anti-FERC crowd has also been protesting outside the agency’s headquarters since Sept. 8, fasting in opposition to anything natural gas. A D.C. Superior Court judge cleared a Beyond Extreme Energy activist last month of unlawful entry into FERC, so the group sent a letter to FERC Chairman Norman Bay via the head of security that even those previously excluded from meetings may show up today. One of the activists caught Bay and FERC General Counsel Max Minzner yesterday as they exited the building and wrote about it. “[H]e stopped and we looked each other in the eye. He told me that he respected what we were doing with the fast and the commitment it showed as far as our beliefs. He said he felt this type of action was a good type of action. However, he went on to say that he really had problems with us disrupting their monthly meetings and asked if we would stop doing that.” http://bit.ly/1LyZ7D8

Climate activist Bill McKibben cheered the group on last night, tweeting, “Day 9 for brave crew fasting outside #FERC to demand an end to new #fracked gas infrastructure #BXEFast Thank you!”

BILL TO PROVIDE KRYPTONITE TO EPA'S IMMUNITY: Amid a joint hearing by the House committees on Natural Resources and Oversight and Government Reform set to take place today over the Animas River spill, Republican Rep. Lynn Westmoreland will introduce a bill to take away the EPA's liability shield. The "No Exemptions for EPA Act" holds EPA liable for accidents at sites the agency is already cleaning up. The bill is the first of a trio Westmoreland plans to introduce, and will be followed by legislation to require the EPA to reimburse the Judgement Fund in these cases, and another requiring the Treasury Department to provide an annual report accounting for agency reimbursements. Those bills are scheduled to be introduced later in September and in early October.

EXELON HOPES MAYOR BOWSER WILL GIVE MERGER NEW LIFE: Opponents of the Exelon Corp.-Pepco Holdings merger are rallying at noon today in the hopes of dissuading D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser from considering a settlement with the companies. At least three city council members, neighborhood commission chairs and religious figures, among others, are planning to speak, organizers say. Within the next week, Exelon and Pepco are expected to formally ask D.C. regulators to rethink their August decision to reject the companies’ merger proposal and critics think they’re hoping that having Bowser on board will better their odds. Given the unequivocal wording of the D.C. Public Service Commission’s decision, color ME skeptical that getting backing from Bowser will sway much. The rally will take place at Freedom Plaza, just across the street from Bowser’s office.

MONIZ #STANDWITHAHMED: Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz tweeted his support for Ahmed Mohamed, the Texas 14-year-old arrested by police after he brought a clock he'd constructed to school. The Dallas Morning News, which broke the story, said Mohamed had a passion for electronics and robotics. He built the clock and brought it to school. When his English teacher got a look at it, she decided it looked like a bomb. Mohamed's arrest has attracted waves of support, including from Obama and Moniz. In his tweet, Moniz wrote: "Keep it up, Ahmed. Our #NationalLabs could use your help building gadgets like this one: http://bit.ly/1PPZSen," with an image of a camera suitable for high-powered telescopes. http://bit.ly/1Jcv829

ME FIRST: STUDY FINDS VEHICLE ELECTRIFICATION COULD CUT EMISSIONS IN HALF: The Electric Power Research Institute, an electric power think tank, and the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental non-profit, will release a report today arguing that ongoing decarbonizing of the electric grid, existing vehicle efficiency policies, and widespread adoption of electric vehicles could reduce emissions by 48 percent by 2050. If renewables come onto the grid in a big way, the report says emissions could be reduced by 70 percent over the same time period.

NEWS ROUND UP: It's a busy Thursday!

— The American Lung Association found support for a methane rulein a poll it released over night. The poll found 67 percent of voters favor rules to limit methane emissions, including 86 percent of Democrats, 72 percent of Independents, and 47 percent of Republicans. The poll was conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and has a 3.3 percent margin of error. http://bit.ly/1Jce5xc

— Oil and gas development and greater sage grouse habitat don't overlap much, according to a report the Western Values Project will release today. "The proposed BLM plans will have a very minimal effect on the energy industry."

— Green building groups says green construction added $167 billion to GDP between 2011 and 2014, according to a report from the U.S. Green Building Council out yesterday. The group, which advocates for energy efficient and sustainable construction through its LEED program, found that environmentally sustainable construction supported 2.1 million jobs over that period. The study forcasts that the industry will add $303.4 billion in GDP between 2015 and 2018. http://bit.ly/1iiqFFk

— Pencils down, today is the last day to tell the BLM how you feel about coal leases. The rule changes would require coal companies mining on public land to pay more for their leases.

— Murray Energy will pay $3.3 million to resolve 1,753 violations issued to five mines when the sites were owned by CONSOL Energy and later purchased by Murray. The settlement was approved by an administrative law judge from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, according to the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

— President Barack Obama called Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown yesterday to express continued federal support in fighting the wildfires ravaging the state. The president said his administration will continue to work closely with the state to prepare for the impacts of climate change. Brown has long pointed to the California drought and the wildfires ravaging his state as evidence for how climate change is affecting his state now.

— The White House threatens to veto an environmental review streamlining bill. The administration believes H.R. 348, "Responsibly And Professionally Invigorating Development Act of 2015 or the RAPID Act", would only lead to more litigation.

** A message from The CRUDE Coalition: American jobs and our national security will be put at risk if Congress allows crude oil to be shipped overseas. Voters agree - recent surveys in Illinois and Pennsylvania show 60% are less likely to re-elect a legislator who supports shipping oil overseas. http://bit.ly/1Kdqt0D **

**A message from the U.S. Chamber’s Global Energy Institute: Today, America’s diverse energy resources are providing abundant, reliable and affordable electricity that is critical to our economy. Unfortunately, that mix is at risk. A new report by IHS Markit cosponsored by the Global Energy Institute explains just how important a diverse set of resources really is. Our current energy mix, including nuclear and coal, is saving us $114 billion per year in electricity costs—lowering the average price by 27%. Without all of our resources, America could lose 1 million jobs within 3 years and $158 billion in GDP, and each American household could see a loss of up to $845 in income each year. To read the report and learn more about how a balanced set of electricity resources is key to our economy and security, click here: http://bit.ly/2huaJ4F **

About The Author

Eric Wolff covers energy policy and politics. Prior to joining POLITICO in 2015, he covered the EPA for SNL Energy, an electric power trade publication. He started at the New York Sun, but he cut his teeth covering the real estate crisis and the emergence of solar power in San Diego County for the late North County Times, a daily newspaper. He is married and living in Washington, D.C. with twin toddlers. He keeps his head above water.